The Dinar Wall: How Non-Convertibility Is Slowing Algeria’s Digital Economy

There is a specific frustration that every Algerian developer, startup founder, and digital professional knows intimately: the moment a payment form asks for a card number, and you know — before you even type the digits — that it will be declined. AWS, GitHub Pro, Figma, Vercel, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, the Apple Developer Program. The list of essential digital tools that do not accept Algerian dinars is essentially the list of essential digital tools.

This is not merely a convenience problem. It is a structural competitive handicap for the nearly 2,300 startups that have received official labels under Algeria’s Startup Act, for the country’s growing freelance workforce, and for every SME attempting to build a digital operation on global infrastructure.

The Daily Friction

The Algerian dinar is not freely convertible. KPMG’s 2025 Guide to Investing in Algeria describes the exchange control law as “strict and complex.” Converting dinars to foreign currency for digital purchases is legally possible only within formally domiciled commercial transactions — a process that involves close to 30 administrative steps and routinely takes three to six months to complete in practice. For a monthly $29 SaaS subscription, this is not a viable pathway.

The practical blockers are everywhere:

• Cloud infrastructure: AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure require a credit card with foreign currency billing. Algerian CIB debit cards and Edahabia prepaid cards are declined at checkout.
• Developer tools: GitHub Pro, JetBrains licenses, Figma, and Linear cannot be purchased directly from Algeria.
• App store fees: Publishing to the Apple App Store requires an Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year) paid in USD. Google Play’s equivalent requires a one-time $25 fee through a Google Payments account — both require foreign payment instruments.
• Payment processing: Stripe is not available in Algeria as a merchant account, meaning Algerian startups cannot accept card payments from international customers through the world’s dominant payment API.
• Productivity suites: Notion, Slack Pro, Zoom, and most B2B SaaS tools bill in USD or EUR via credit card.

What the Law Actually Says

Under current Bank of Algeria regulations, the use of foreign currency for transactions is tied to formal commercial domiciliation. Banks can in principle process foreign currency payments for businesses with legitimate import or service contracts — but the bureaucratic burden makes this unworkable for recurring digital subscriptions or developer tool licenses.

Law No. 23-09 (June 21, 2023), the updated Currency and Banking Law, did not fundamentally change the convertibility picture for everyday digital commerce. It reinforced the legal framework for banking operations without meaningfully liberalizing the current account for small-value digital transactions. Law 22-18, on investment, reaffirms the right of foreign investors to repatriate capital and profits — but this helps multinationals entering Algeria, not Algerian founders paying for AWS.

The October 2024 Digital Bank Regulation (No. 24-64) is more promising in spirit: it creates a legal category for fully digital banks, opening the door to more nimble financial institutions. But digital banks cannot be established as branches of foreign banks, meaning international payment intermediaries cannot enter the Algerian market directly. The buildout of local digital banking infrastructure that could bridge the DZD-to-foreign-currency gap remains a multi-year horizon.

The Workaround Economy

Unable to operate legally through official channels, Algeria’s digital economy has improvised an elaborate shadow infrastructure:

Virtual credit cards (VCCs): Resellers — operating on Instagram, Telegram, and specialized websites — sell pre-loaded virtual cards denominated in USD or EUR. These are funded through various mechanisms (foreign accounts, informal currency markets) and sold to Algerian buyers at a premium above the official rate. The market is extensive and largely tolerated.

Payoneer: The primary formal workaround for freelancers. Algerian professionals on Upwork and Fiverr route earnings through Payoneer, which holds funds in USD. Payoneer can be used directly to pay for some international tools, and funds can eventually be withdrawn to Algerian bank accounts — though users report fees and compliance friction at the withdrawal stage.

Grey and similar virtual account services: Platforms like Grey provide Algerian users with foreign account numbers (GBP/EUR/USD), allowing them to receive international payments and convert to DZD. Wise’s multi-currency accounts offer a similar function and are regarded as the best combination of fees, rates, and speed for transfers into Algeria.

Family networks: For consumer-facing subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, cloud storage), having a family member abroad pay is the most common and friction-free workaround. This informal remittance channel is how millions of Algerians access international services.

Informal currency market: The black market for USD and EUR is substantial and widely tolerated, trading at a significant premium to the official rate. Many digital transactions — particularly larger ones — flow through this channel.

Impact on Startups

The currency barrier creates a two-tier startup ecosystem. Startups that have external funding, international co-founders, or foreign legal entities (often registered in France, Morocco, or the UAE) can access global tools without friction. Purely domestic startups face a structural disadvantage.

By July 2024, over 2,300 companies had been labeled under Algeria’s startup system, unlocking tax benefits (VAT exemptions on equipment, corporate tax deferrals) and access to the $80 million Algeria Innovation Fund. But the startup label does not automatically grant access to foreign currency for cloud tool purchases. Labeled startups still navigate the same 30-step domiciliation process for any formal foreign payment.

The result is that Algerian startups often underinvest in cloud infrastructure relative to their peers in Morocco and Tunisia. Junior developers in Algeria earn approximately 240,000 DZD per year (roughly $1,850 at the official rate) — making even a $50/month cloud bill a meaningful financial burden when it must be sourced through informal channels at premium rates.

Impact on Freelancers

Algeria’s freelance tech workforce — active on Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, and 99designs — operates in a persistent legal grey zone. Receiving international payments is not explicitly prohibited, but the mechanisms for doing so formally are cumbersome enough that most freelancers use Payoneer as a de facto workaround without full regulatory clarity on its status.

The practical workflow for most Algerian freelancers is: earn on Upwork → receive in Payoneer → use Payoneer USD balance to pay for international tools directly, or withdraw to DZD through an informal exchange. This works, but it exposes freelancers to currency risk, fees, and the ever-present possibility of regulatory enforcement against informal channels.

The Competitive Disadvantage

Morocco and Tunisia provide the starkest comparison. The Moroccan dirham allows partial convertibility for current account transactions, meaning Moroccan startups can obtain corporate credit cards and pay AWS directly without workarounds. Morocco’s startup ecosystem is growing at 23.1% annually, ranking in the global top 100, and has direct AWS Wavelength infrastructure through Orange’s regional partnership. Tunisia’s Startup Act of 2018 introduced specific foreign currency provisions for labeled startups, contributing to Tunisia becoming the fifth-largest startup hub in MENA with over 1,450 startups.

Algeria’s startup ecosystem is newer and growing — but it is growing despite the currency barrier, not because the barrier has been removed.

Signals of Change

There are genuine indicators that the situation may evolve. The Digital Bank Regulation of October 2024 signals regulatory willingness to modernize financial infrastructure. The “digital dinar” — a central bank digital currency — has been reported as under study, which could theoretically enable new forms of international value exchange without requiring conventional convertibility. The 2,300+ startup labels issued and the $80 million Innovation Fund represent a government investment in the ecosystem that would be poorly served by leaving the currency barrier in place indefinitely.

The most actionable near-term reform would be a streamlined foreign currency allowance for labeled startups — a designated annual limit for cloud and digital tool purchases, processed through the banking system without full commercial domiciliation. Tunisia’s model offers a workable template.

Sources & Further Reading

• KPMG Guide to Investing in Algeria 2025
• 2024 Investment Climate Statements: Algeria — US State Department
• Inside Algeria’s Startup Labelling System — Launch Base Africa
• Algeria Rolls Out New Digital Banking Rules — Launch Base Africa
• How to Withdraw Freelancing Money in Algeria — Grey
• How to Receive Payments from Upwork in Algeria — Grey
• Fintech Overview of Algeria in 2024 — The Fintech Times
• Algeria Digital Economy — US Commercial Service
• Algeria Startup Ecosystem 2025 — Techpression
• Does Payoneer Work in Algeria — OneSafe